There is still Hope
by monkeygirl77
Summary: With Michael and Lucifer in the cage God finally returns. It breaks His heart at the way Heaven is left, the sorrow and silence that should not be in a place that was once filled with such laughter and singing. So He brings back the one who always cheered up the little ones, took time out of his duties to play with his siblings. He brings back Gabriel, for He knows he can fix this.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been listening to the solo version of Love the way you lie by Rihanna and this popped into my head.**

* * *

You know its true what they say. That you never really realize what you have till its gone.

The war was over. With Michael and Lucifer both in the cage and no possible way to actually kill one another things died down. Heaven was in shambles. Hell wasn't any better.

Only one thing that could remotely be good came from this ending. God returned. He'd seen how His heaven was destroyed, how His children paid more of a sacrifice then others realized, as the beautiful once shining babes were more weary then they should be. As the fledgling who should have been running around and playing were holding swords and waiting for orders. Some didn't even have their flight feathers and yet they knew how to kill their own family.

He saw as the young twins cried for their lost halves. As older angels mourned for their fallen comrades. His once beautiful shining family was now nothing but quiet sad beings. Their was no songs being sung, there was no laughter, there was nothing but silence. It was truly heartbreaking. This needed to change. There needed to be laughter and playing. Singing and flying younglings.

So He did the one thing he could possibly think of after seeing something like this. He brought back the one who always made the younglings smile, who took time out of his duties to teach them how to fly, who took them with him when he delivered messages, who cared for them with his whole being.

He brought back Gabriel.

It was easy then it sounded. Nobody really knew where angels went when they died. Not even he knew and that in itself was saying something. It was kind of like a void, a large space in between the balance of times and energies where there was absolutely nothing. Or in this case where there was _supposed _to be absolutely nothing. It was rather easy to find Gabriel in all the chaos, he sadly stuck out like a sore thumb. Smiling despite the fact he was dead.

To say Gabriel went into a state of shock when he had returned home was an understatement. How long had he been gone? Where was the laughter and smiling faces and the fledglings getting into everything they could reach? Where was the music? The singing? The booms of thunder and the howls of wind? He waved his bright golden wings once and his face set into that of grim determination. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

It took a week. A whole seven days for him to gather what was left of the younglings and fledglings. A week to numb the pain of the lost twins, a week to finally get them all in one place so he could take a head count. Before father had left saying He had important business to tend to He had left him in charge. Told him to fix things, to make home home again. And that was what he was going to do. Even if it broke his heart in more ways then it should have.

Tear stained faces stared up at him. Injured graces wanting to reach out for his in comfort but were too afraid to. Little dull eyes that should be shining eyes stared up at him and he had to fight the urge to look away. A little red-headed angel, no more then four years old it seemed, stepped away from the pack. Wounds littered his wings and face, his once blue robes matted with blood and dirt.

"Is it really over sir?"

The little babe sounded to much like a soldier for his liking, to grown up. A voice that should have been full of laughter and playfulness was sharp like that of a soldiers and too firm then he liked. This wasn't right. Gabriel ignored the eyes focusing on him, the dull lifeless eyes, ignored the flinch of the little tyke as he bent down and scooped him up into his arms.

"Whats your name kiddo?"

The red-head bowed his head remaining silent as if this had been drilled and drilled into their heads, no matter he simply lifted the small head with a finger under the chin until large amber eyes were staring into his green.

"What is you name kiddo?"

"Isaiah sir"

He frowned at he name 'sir'. He wasn't a sir, he was a Gabe or a Gabby but not a sir. Gabriel jostled Isaiah in his arms and could swear he saw the tiniest smile creep across the youngsters face. He expanded his grace, warm and fun, across the group of children. Smiling slightly when each and everyone else's bumped his in return.

"Yah kiddos the war is over"

* * *

It had taken him a months time to finally beadle to walk out of his room and see the little ones openly playing with each other. Laughing and finally acting like they should. He still took as much time out of his duties as he could to play with them. He could now tell you that Isaiah loved playing with fire, Samandriel's wings were extremely ticklish, and Kia loved writing and reading. There was so much more about these kids that simply fascinated him.

But now he was focused on getting the weather makers back up and shaking. The usually filled and hustle bustle pantheon that held them was unusually dull. There was no swirling clouds or bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder. There was no rain sounds or hurricanes. No tornadoes or snow. It was just like an empty building except for the fact that people did indeed live in it.

Even though it was getting better, the lightning and thunder angels weren't competing with each other anymore. Snow angels weren't making their beautiful one of a kind snowflakes, the wind angels didn't even make a simple breeze. A slight crash caught his attention and he turned to the source. There in the corner was two young looking weather angels. A lightning and Thunder angel duo who were trying to out do each other. That all a thunderstorm truly was, a fun competition between a lightning maker and a thunder make to see who can out do the other. A smile graced Gabriel's face as he saw the raw energy of the lightning travel around the girls hand and the waves of the thunder rolled from the boys. It was cute, they were so absorbed in their fierce competition they didn't even realize that Gabriel had walked up beside them until he was knelt to their level.

"Well if it isn't Levinia and Ramiel. Can I call you guys Vini and Rami?"

Both nodded in shocked silence. Gabriel smiled again and stood back to his full height then offered both a hand. The small small hands slowly clasped onto his and he walked them to the front of the pantheon. The open piece where many weather angels used to play with each other. They looked out at it in awe and Gabriel wondered if they had ever been allowed out there. The brunette archangel knelt down again and they looked at him with wide hopeful eyes.

"I bet you guys can have more fun out there then playing with you stuff in here"

He stood again and when they didn't move he leaned down and gave their behinds a light smack which made them jump into the air and look at him accusingly. That only made him chuckle more and wave his hand out into the open. they gave him wide smiles and flew as fast and far as they could. It only took moments until the sky was filled with the sounds of laughter, thunder, and the beautiful sight that was lightning. He noticed as the other weather makers looked out at the two playing youngsters. Slowly but surely more angels flew out into the open. More thunder and lightning was made. Snow flakes were blown around the room and wind was howling in delight.

A small hatchling weather maker stumbled on its two stubby feet and its wings waved with utter delight. It had on a small robe with a golden button with the imprint of a tornado on it. It sneezed and tumbled into his wing. The hatchling giggled and grabbed handfuls of the soft golden feathers. Gabriel smiled at the little babe and scooped it up tin his arms. It giggled again and small hands clapped the side of his face. Some weather makers nearest him stopped what they were doing to see what he would do to the hatchling. He tired to ignore the looks he knew he was getting and wiggled his fingers in the small soft belly making the hatchling giggle more.

"Well aren't you a cutie"

Another girl with dark navy blue wings fluttered up beside him and he gave her a warm smile which she returned wholeheartedly. She wore the same albeit a bit bigger robes and button that the hatchling did.

"What's up Sera?"

It was short for Seraphina and she was one heck of a cute tornado making angel.

"Can I plays with Ori too?"

Gabriel smiled at her and gently lowered the hatchling into the girls arms. They happily flew to the ground and with a tiny hand gripping the girls finger tottered towards the other tornado makers who welcomed them with open arms.

* * *

Raphael returned somewhere around a week later. He was quiet at first and then the surrounded terrified angels saw something that meany had never seen in their entire existence. Raphael smiled.

Gabriel had been somewhat reluctant about showing him around but eventually had to do the inevitable. To his surprise Raphael had this kind of relieved smile on his face the entire time as if he was happy that his home was finally becoming the place he remembered and loved. Gabriel had left him at his pantheon at his own request. Saying something like 'I need to fix this one Gabe'. It took a couple weeks but soon the great healing pantheon was up and running again.

Castiel came back shortly after that. He was quiet, not that he hadn't always been, but quieter. He knew only time would be able to heal what the young seraph had been through. But that didn't mean that the two archangels wouldn't help him along the way. For he was still their little brother and that's what they were supposed to do as the older ones. It would take almost a month and a half to return Cas to his normal self.

* * *

As the brunette archangel walked through the currently being rebuilt Heaven, walking slowly and not flying like he usually did, he got to see just how much things had changed. He was on his way to the choirs. But on the way marveled at the sights and siblings. Overt on one of the clouds he saw the little ones playing, there was belting laughter up ahead to his left and as he got closer he saw Raphael giving Samandriel and Isaiah a check up after having decided it would be fun to try and see who could hold holy fire the longest. Raphael had bee furious when they first arrived with to many to actually degree burns but now seemed to be tickling the ever living snot out of the two trouble makers while checking their wings for any remaining wounds.

The older Healer caught his eye and he fled away quicker at the familiar glint of 'your next' shining in his older brothers brown eyes. As he flew away he vaguely heard the pleads for mercy and the 'evil' laughter of "Never" before the pleads were replaced with squeals and loud childish laughter once again. As he got closer to the choirs pantheon. With the great almost Greek resembling columns and pillars he was unnerved by the unnatural silence surround the place. If he hadn't of known that there was angels inside he probably would have guessed there wasn't because of the eerie silence. A younger angel met him on the steps, or more like he had almost stepped on her wing had she not of cried out.

Her name was Alahya and apparently she had the most beautiful voice, not as beautiful as Lucifer's but a good second. She was simply a button. With auburn wings and short curly hair and sea blue eyes. The only drawback was her silence. Up ahead he saw another younger angel,a boy by the name of Nazim or Naz as he went but most of the time.

Nazim was humming something quietly under his breath. it was more than what was normally heard from the young music angels. He scooped Alahya up and walked up the pantheon steps until he came to a stop and took a seat next to Nazim. Gabriel simply sat and listened to the tune until he could hum along with the child. He saw both young ones look at him in awe as he hummed the tune and brushed his fingers through both auburn and silver feathers. It didn't take long until they were singing the tune softly.

"You kiddies wanna learn a new song?"

When they nodded shyly a moment later Gabriel smiled and taught them both one of the songs he remembered hearing once while in witness protection down on Earth. It was called We Are or something like that. He'd heard it when he'd seen that one Ice Age movie. It was sung by Keke Palm or Keke Palmer, something like that. Like any musically inclined beings they took to it quickly and were able to sing it on their own minutes later. He liked that song, it was about family and if there was one thing he loved more than chocolate it was his family. They seemed to like the song to. He watched as they jumped from his lap singing their new song and went to run back to their friends when they stopped turned back and ran back to him. Quickly throwing their arms around his neck and gave him tiny pecks on the cheek before running off happily.

Later they'd all here the sounds of the choirs singing their praises and songs all around Heaven. Not to mention Raphael would follow through with his 'Your Next' look. Gabriel would admit, he hadn't genuinely laughed that hard in a long time.

* * *

It was almost a year until Father had returned, with two beings in tow. When He returned He was greeted by the sounds of the fledglings laughter, the booms and bangs from the Weather Angels, the flying of newly made younglings, and the singing of the choirs. He wasn't surprised to find Gabriel in the field playing with two fledglings. Leigha and Xavier hid behind Gabriel's wings with small hands grasping at his thighs as they peeked around his legs at the commonly feared Michael. Father smiled at his children and calmed them with a simply touch to their small wings.

"You have made great progress my son"

Gabriel didn't know what to say to that and simply resorted to nodding like one little fledgling who were still tightly grasping at his thighs. God (who looked strangely like the 'prophet' Chuck) smiled at them again and looked down at the two younglings peeking from behind Gabriel's legs at him and the two behind him.

"Xavier, Leigha, you have grown since the last time I've seen you. Would you like to meet someone?"

The two younglings looked like they were on the verge of shaking their heads but He didn't give them a chance to. He stepped aside a little bit and allowed the two oldest archangels to come forward. Gabriel almost hissed when their little nails dug into his skin, but he was too busy blocking their view from the two newcomers with his wings. Gabriel's eyes became unnaturally dark and narrowed at the two. He had worked hard in restoring what he had and he wasn't going to let anyone break them again.

"Gabriel"

It was a soft command but one he had to obey. He looked over at Him as He ran a hand through his hair, a trait he must have picked up from being on earth. But he didn't miss the 'Let them see' behind the gesture. Gabriel reluctantly lowered his wings and pried to small appendages from around his thighs to step away from the two. Xavier and Leigha whined softly at his retreat beside father but other wise didn't move from the spot, almost as if they were planted there. They could only look up with fearing shining bright eyes as Michael and Lucifer stepped closer until they fell to their knees in front of the two.

Xavier and Leigha exchanged glances and God and Gabriel watched as the two reached tiny hands out and touched them to the cheek of the archangel in front of them. And as a larger hand encompassed the small ones. God and Gabriel smiled as the two fledglings smiled. Michael and Lucifer looked at both fledgling and smiled too. More angels stopped what they were doing to look and more fledglings cautiously flew over to get a better view. As Michael and Lucifer stood up they pulled the small fledglings up with them. Leigha and Xavier gave startled sounds and quickly wrapped their arms around the two's neck, in a sign of trust that made two hearts swell in happiness.

The choirs sang that day, loud and clear. The Weather Makers played and the thunder crashes and winds could be heard all around, the gardens flourished under Joshua and the others tending, the young ones flew and played. Laughter, music, and happiness could be heard on the wind that day. Four brothers reunited and the war was no longer on anyone's minds. Together, although it took time, Heaven was restored to its former glory.

Maybe their family still had a hope after all.

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**So its a little different than what I usually write.. Hope it made sense to you! Tell me what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I've been reading through my other stories and decided I wanted to make this one happen.. This is a part of my story 'there is still Hope'.**

* * *

Gabriel had just walked into the archangels pantheon, somewhat lonely considering, after working all day with the choir angels. The constant strain and work was starting to take its toll on Gabriel, and he wasn't the only one who was noticing either. There were some days that he didn't smile like usual and eventually there was that concerned angel who went to his older brother and told him about it. He gave a shriek as something tackled him from behind and pulled him towards what used to be their bedrooms.  
He knew it had to be Raphael, the other two were still in the cage.

He was pulled into the older healers room and the door was shut behind him. Gabriel spun on him and glared, he didn't have time for this.

"Raphael we don't have time to mess around! Dad could come back at any time and he wanted everything to be fixed up for his return!"

Gabriel tried to get to the door but his older brother body blocked him. His facial expression held firm as he stared into his older brothers face. Raphael remained strong though and didn't budge.

"Gabe. I'm sure Father will understand if he decided to return now and your in here."

Gabriel let out an exasperated groan and plowed his fingers through his hair.

"Baby Brother the little ones are frightened for you, they say your not happy."

"Well.. I'm Happy ok! Now let me out!

"I don't believe you", Raphael stalked forward as Gabriel started to backtrack. Gabriel never had a chance to fend him off as the older archangel dove at him and next thing he knew Raphael was straddling him on his bed. Fingers lightly painting shapes into his sides. Gabriel twitched and bit his lip, he was too old for this.

"You know, I remember you were a terrible fledgling, always causing mischief and trouble. But we could never get you to laugh, which was strange"

Raphael pinched his lower ribs causing a smile to break out involuntarily onto his face.

"You'd smile sure, even that annoying 'i know something you don't know' smile, but never an actual laugh. Until we figured out how to break you out of you no laughter shell"

Raphael dug his fingers into his sides and Gabriel screamed. He arched his back and tried to get away from the fingers running up and down his sides to no avail. He was utterly and completely stuck.

"And if I remember correctly..."

One of his hands trailed up his side, seemingly enjoying the way he could get him to jump, and slowly but surely attached itself to his ribs. His laughter went up in pitch and he tried to bend away but every which way he bent the fingers followed. He was given no mercy, no mercy whatsoever as the fingers ran themselves over each and every rib and in the spaces between them.

"Your lower ribs always made you say this cute little pet-name..."

Raphael trailed his hand down to Gabriel's lower ribs and the younger archangel shrieked and giggled like a madman.

"RAHAHAPHYYAH!"

The second hand joined the first and Gabriel squirmed this way and that. Raphael knew this one was a good spot and took complete and utter big brotherly advantage of that. Gabriel kicked his legs and bucked trying to dislodge his older brother but failed miserably as his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"NAHAOOO! RAHAHPY DOAHAHN'T!"

Raphael smiled this sweet 'I'm enjoying this more then you'd even imagine' smile and grasped his wrist and wrenching his hand above his head.

"But that wasn't your worst spot was it? Where's your spot Gabe?"

Gabriel shook his head frantically causing the elder to sigh.

"Glad to see your still as stubborn as ever.. I guess I'll have to find it for myself then"

Gabriel watched with wide eyes as he wiggled his fingers above him. He remembered the very last time he had been in a position just like this, he had just painted Michael's wings bright pink and Mike in revenge had enacted his form of retaliation. He smiled as the hand got closer and closer and couldn't help the tiny giggles that escaped just like they had all those years ago. Raphael smile returned and his attacked his tummy again. Squeezing at the soft flesh and lightly circling his finger around his navel. Gabriel squealed and screamed when his bent down and blew a raspberry into it.

He threw his hands up to try and dislodge his older brother and only gave him the opportunity to shove both hands under his arms and scratch the soft flesh underneath them. Gabriel was practically crying, with the combination of the blowing on his tummy and the hands under his arms. He knew that Raph could do this all day, and the real question was if he could say the same.

"Where is it Gabe?"

"RAAHAHAHAPHY! PLEAHAHHASE!"

"While I'm happy you said please, that's not what I wanted. If you don't tell em before I get there it will only be worse for you little brother"

Raphael knew Gabriel would never admit it. It was a matter of pride which his younger brother took fond consideration of. But it was still absolutely adorable to see his baby brother squirm and beg under neath him. His fingers slowly pulled away from the body and upwards towards the golden wings quivering on the floor underneath him.

"Its your wings isn't it baby brother?"

"..Please.. Don't..."

Raphael gently coaxed one closer and he gave Gabriel a mock sorrowful look before digging his fingers through the feathers and lightly scratching at the soft skin underneath. Gabriel completely lost it. He through his head back and laughed those big belly laughs you get when you know you've hit that one weak spot. Gabriel was absolutely adorable this way. His face all red and scrunched up with laughter pouring out of him like rain from the clouds.

"PLEASAHAHAHHA"

He couldn't say anything more. Big fat tears were rolling down his face and Raphael carried on for a couple more minutes before he deciding his baby brother had enough and rolled off of him onto the floor next to him. Gabriel curled in on himself and he felt the cool fingers rubbing the remaining tickles out of his wings. He glared as best he could, which wasn't very well with his face all red and a huge smile stretched across it, up at his older brother.

"Now I know why we used to do that all the time.. Gabriel you don't have to do this all by yourself. If it becomes to much you know you can ask for my help right?", It broke Raphael's heart that his own baby brother couldn't nod his head, "You ever need any help you can always come ask me, alright?"

Gabriel nodded at him and for all pretenses looked like he was going to fall asleep right there on the floor. All the work had taken its tole on his baby brothers health and Raphael could see that, so being the big brother he was, he wrapped him up in his wings like he'd done when Gabriel was still simply a fledgling and continued to rub his fingers through the feathers on his bright golden wings until he drifted off to sleep.

He wasn't the perfect older brother to his siblings, heck he couldn't even say he was a good one, but there was still hope to change that. He could still be the big brother he was supposed to be.

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**So? I hope you liked it!**


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